


ashes, ashes, in my arms

by flyingroses121



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: 1k, Cuddling, Fluffy, Other, ashes makes raph take care of herself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25836337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingroses121/pseuds/flyingroses121
Summary: Ashes notices that Raphaella hasn't taken good care of herself. They decide to change that.
Relationships: Raphaella la Cognizi/Ashes O'Reilly
Comments: 9
Kudos: 48





	ashes, ashes, in my arms

**Author's Note:**

> a little birdy (eli) told me there weren't a lot of fics in the ashes/raph tag so i decided to change that!

Raphaella jumped as she heard banging on her lab door. She furrowed her brows, wondering what could be so urgent that the crew ignored experiment hours. She looked back at her elaborate setup of pipes and chemicals and sighed before she opened the door.

Ashes stood on the other side, arms crossed over their chest. “How long has it been since you’ve had a break?”

Raphaella blinked, pushing hair away from her face. “Uh…”

“Okay. That’s all I need to know. You’re coming with me to the kitchen, and you’re going to eat real food and drink water. Sound good?” They tilted their head, eyes anticipating an answer.

“I- I’m in the middle of an experiment, it’s time sensitive.” She realized how tired she sounded as she spoke, gesturing back into her lab.

Ashes hummed softly. “Shame. Better turn it off, I’d hate for your lab to explode.” They gave her a warm smile. “I’ll wait out here. Be out in ten or I’m coming in.” They grabbed the door and pushed it closed.

Raphaella couldn’t help but smile. Though the intrusion was very unwanted, the thought of someone actually caring for her made her feel warm. Not as warm as Ashes was, but close.

After the chemicals were safely put away and the pipes were taken down, she washed her hands and came out of her lab. She looked to her left to see Ashes leaning on the wall and smoking. “Just in time! Come on, angel.” They threw their cigarette on the ground and put it out with the heel of their boot before taking Raphaella’s hand and walking with her down the hallway.

“Will you come lay down with me after we’re done?” She asked, leaning on them as they walked.

“Of course I will, stardust. My quarters or yours?” They gently squeezed her hand, looking to her with a fond expression.

“Yours. Mine is a mess that I can’t deal with right now.”

They let out a small laugh. “I completely understand. I was actually about to warn you about mine. It isn’t exactly pretty either.”

“Better than mine, I’ll bet.”

“Oh, for sure. Mine doesn’t have chemical spills in it.”

“Okay, I spilled a corrosive chemical in my room one time-”

“And Aurora killed you for it. Five times.”

Raphaella laughed, noticing the kitchen was close. “I thought it was six!”

Ashes was smiling and laughing, too. “It might have been. Either way, you can’t say you didn’t deserve it.”

“Oh, I definitely did.” She freed her hand from theirs to open the fridge. “What do we have that isn’t Jonny’s… stuff?”

Ashes snickered and joined her, wrapping an arm around her waist. “We have leftover soup from the other night if you want to reheat that. It’s easy, warm, and we can lay down together sooner.”

She thought for a moment, leaning on Ashes when she felt the arm around her. “Good point. Which container is it?”

“The one right below the box.”

“... speaking of, why is there a cardboard box in the fridge..?”

“Do you really want to know?” They gave them a warning look.

She pursed her lips. “No.” She broke from the hold and grabbed one of the containers below the box before closing the fridge. “You sure it’s still good?”

“I’m positive.” Ashes gave them a smile and leaned on the counter in front of the stove.

Raphaella heated up the soup, humming as she did so. Ashes could listen to her voice forever. Everytime Raphaella sang, whether it be performance or leisure, it was always beautiful. They closed their eyes and listened to her sing, smiling softly and letting themself be in the moment.

They opened their eyes when they heard the stove beep, indicating the time was up. Raphaella transferred the soup to a bowl and turned to smile at Ashes. “Are you happy?” She asked, stirring the soup before taking a careful bite.

“Very. You need to take better care of yourself, Raph.”

“No, I mean today. Are you happy today? I know you’ve been having a bad week.”

Their eyes widened slightly as Raphaella clarified. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, today’s better. I’ve just… been thinking.” They took out a cigarette. Not to smoke. Just to fiddle with.

Raphaella raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound convincing, Mx. O’Reilly.”

They snickered, twirling the cigarette between their fingers. “I call you angel and stardust, and all I get is Mx. O’Reilly?”

“Okay, my firebug. That doesn’t sound convincing.” She said with a small giggle.

“That’s cute. I like that one.” They put the cigarette away and took out their lighter, flicking the lid on and off. “But… just thinking about bad memories. That’s all, really. Time with you will fix it for a little bit.”

Raphaella couldn’t help but blush when they said that. “Believe me or not, but you’re really sweet, Ashes.”

“I choose not to. I’m not sweet.” Though they said this, there was a small smile on their face.

“Okay! Doesn’t change the fact that you called me stardust earlier.” She gave them a devious smile just before finishing the soup and putting the bowl in the sink.

Ashes rolled their eyes playfully and pocketed their lighter before taking Raphaealla’s arm. “I think it’s time to cuddle.”

Raphaella looked at them and nodded firmly. “I agree.”

They walked to Ashes’s room in comfortable silence, listening to the thrum of the ship and enjoying each other's company. Raphaella started to hum after a moment, Ashes joining with a harmony.

They got to their room just as the song ended. “Again, I want to warn you, it’s messy.” They said as they opened the door.

Raphaella walked inside and furrowed her brows. “You call this messy?” The only thing that she saw was wrong was their desk. It was piled high with books and notebooks and pencils and stray pieces of paper, notes messily scrawled everywhere. A cactus sat on the corner, seeming to hold all of the chaos together. “I didn’t know you had a plant!”

Ashes closed the door and walked to the desk. “Yeah! This is Pokey.” They picked up the cactus and held it up.

Raphaella came closer and took the plant from Ashes. “Hello, Pokey!” She brought her finger up to gently poke the spikes. “Oh, you are pokey.”

“Raphaella, stop it.” Ashes said, but not without a smile. They took the cactus from her and put it back on the desk.

She looked to them with a grin. “Let’s get comfy, firebug.”

Ashes shrugged off their coat and threw it on the chair, kicking off their shoes as they sat on the bed. “Come here, dove.” They opened their arms with a smile.

Raphaella joined them soon, fitting between their arms just right. She rested her head on their chest, taking in a deep breath as she finally relaxed. “You’re so warm.” She said softly.

Ashes wrapped their arms around her, adjusting to accommodate her. “So are you.”

They laid together in silence for a beat or two, listening to the sound of the others breathing. It was rare that they got to spend time like this. With Raphaella busy in the lab and Ashes busy with quartermaster duties, times like these were hard to come by. Especially without interruption.

“Hey, firebug?” Raphaella said, her voice a soft whisper.

“I thought you fell asleep, dove. What is it?” They replied, giving her a soft squeeze.

“I’m so glad I met you.” She pushed her face into their shoulder and took a deep breath. Fire. Smoke. Home.

They let out a puff of air as they pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you.”

Raphaella hummed softly as she reached the threshold of sleep. “Love you too.” She mumbled.

**Author's Note:**

> like my work? consider commissioning me! contact me on twitter (@pinkstarrrs) or tumblr (@flyingrosess) for more info!


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